The Madness Underneath
by Niknakz93
Summary: :AU: After a one-night stand with a hot stranger with one killer Russian accent while on holiday, Rose thinks she's seen the last of him. But when a new semester at school brings them back together in the most unlikeliest of ways, things are about to get much more difficult. -Romitri- R&R?
1. Chapter 1

**So the guys on Twitter have won… they've made me write a Romitri fic. AU. No one's a Moroi or anything! All human. Shits and giggles included. It's rated M for a reason. *Whistles innocently* Well, I hope you like my first proper shot at writing a Romitri fic and review my cupcakes! If enough people want more, I'll write more.**

**-**_For Rayane, Ana, Molly, Maisie and Amoolya and the gang. My bloodwhores.-_

* * *

**The Madness Underneath**

He had one seriously rocking bod. Really. Thank god my sunglasses were so dark, or the god waxing his surfboard would have spied me staring at him.

An elbow nudged me in the side. "He's hot," Lissa whispered into my ear. After another appreciative glance at the surfer, I turned my head to her. She was sat beneath an umbrella with a pattern of blue spots upon white, wide dark sunglasses sat snug before her eyes.

"Poor Christian" I teased her with a smile. "Fishing for hotter, older stuff now are we?"

Even though she slapped my bare arm lightly, it still hurt like a bitch.

The surfer had straightened up now, his back to us. Damn, perfect ass as well. His back, like his chest, you could break a hand punching. He was also sporting a light tan that went with his long and ragged dark brown hair. His eyes were brown as well, as deep and as dark as the chocolate fountain Lissa had at her last birthday party.

Wow, it was a scorcher this afternoon. Lissa had such fair skin that she burned like overdone toast. Except she didn't come out black and crunchy, she turned the brightest red possible and could barely sleep for weeks for how bad the burns could get.

Hot surfer dude turned around and hell-o those black shorts were tight. Especially at the front. When he came out of the water, I'd have to snap a picture. Being on the beach was turning me into some crazy bitch who stared at guys crotches as they waxed their surfboards. Still, didn't everyone?

Lissa stretched out her legs before her, making sure not to dangle one outside the safety of the umbrella. She'd closed her eyes no doubt. She only had them for Christian. Ugh.

"Are you still staring?" she sighed ten minutes later. I looked away from surfer dude. "Am not."

"If you like him that much, just go over and say Hi then."

Now that sounded like an idea. "Sure," I told her, swinging my legs over the side of the sun lounger. "Wish me luck."

Lissa said nothing. When I snuck a glance, her earphones were in and I could hear the tinny music of Lady Gaga of all people playing. Was that Bad Romance? Really?

"Hey-!" she yelled as I tugged the earphones out on my way. She could have them back when she had a more decent playlist.

His back was still turned to me as I walked through the scorching sand that was burning the soles of my feet off. Should have slipped into flip-flops. Every step was like walking on red hot lava.

At least the bikini I was wearing was the best one I had. Blood red with a pattern of roses in maroon. Yes, Lissa had bought me it. I'd told her I was only wearing it because of her, but the truth was I loved it. It wasn't tacky in any sense.

When I stopped behind the man, the waves were so close. A few meters and the surf would be washing over our feet. The ocean was clear and a perfect pale blue that mirrored the sky. God I loved Miami.

After one more appreciative glance at the perkiest ass I'd seen in a long time, I asked "how long have you been surfing?"

He stopped his waxing and turned to face me, a frown upon his face.

Oh damn. He was older than I'd first thought. By, uh, more than five years that was for sure. "It's to stop you slipping off" he told me. Oh fuck, he even had an accent. Double the hotness. Plus he was even bigger than I'd first imagined… in both senses of the word.

I had been so distracted with how gorgeous his accent was, and how much I'd like him to whisper some downright questionable things into my ear that I hadn't noticed him adding something on the end of his waxing comment. I smiled and nodded, hoping he hadn't noticed my lapse in concentration.

His frown returned and deepened. "You don't look the surfer type?"

Crap. He must have asked if I surfed too. "Sure," I lied. "I love surfing. One of my favorite things to do on the beach." Besides staring at your ass through my sunglasses.

The man smiled, and it truly lit up his face. Such perfection should be illegal. He had nice hands. I bet they were good for other things too.

"Do you want to try?" he asked. I smiled and shook my head, raising my hands to my hair to brush them from my shoulders. "No. I've surfed, but I'm not that good." I hesitated. "Actually, I just came over to say hi. I've never surfed before. I'd probably break my neck somehow, and then drown. Or get stung by jellyfish." Another pause. "Or the eaten by sharks option."

"That would be a genuine shame," he smiled. "What's your name?"

"Rose. And you?"

"Dimitri," he answered, hoisting his board up onto his shoulder. Damn, the way his muscles seemed to ripple with the effort. He wasn't some teenage boy, but a true man. I bet he knew how to do things teenage boys could never even dream of. And I wanted to find out personally if I was right.

"Dimitri. That's Russian. Isn't Miami… well, too hot for you? I think of Russia and think of endless snow. There's nothing there."

He laughed. He actually laughed. His chest rumbled as he chuckled. Strands of dark brown hair fell into his eyes. How was he not even sweating on such a hot day like today? Especially if he was from the middle of Narnia.

"There's a lot there in Russia, Rose," he assured me. "It's not… Narnia." It was like he'd read my mind.

I shrugged, going in for the kill. "Well, you could tell me more about Russia over a few drinks later on?" that was bold. Even for me.

Dimitri cocked a brow, face blank. "Are you always this fast?"

"Who knows?" shut up before you embarrass yourself Rose. Please. I shrugged again. "There's a nice bar on the seafront if you want to catch a drink there?" Cheeks, don't you dare go red.

He looked mildly surprised, but then his face returned to expressionless. "You look a little too young for drinks, Rose."

I huffed up like a cat that had been dropped into a bath full of cold water. "I'm not a little girl."

"Is nine too late for you? I have some business to take care of before then. And I leave tomorrow."

I nodded. "That's fine. I leave tomorrow too." Back to the middle of nowhere and it's craptastic private academy. If it wasn't for Lissa, I would have walked out by now. "The _Oceanstar_ at nine, then?"

"It's a date," Dimitri teased me, hoisting his surfboard more onto his shoulder. "I'll see you there, Rose." He then turned and walked off into the surf.

* * *

Lissa shook her head in disbelief when I returned to her and told her the news. She perched her sunglasses atop her blond head, eyes almost like jewels. "Are you serious? You were gone barely ten minutes."

"What can I say? I have charm," I told her sweetly, sliding back onto the sun lounger and slipping my shades back before my eyes. Lissa tutted and settled back down, shoving her recovered earphones back into her ears. For the next hour, I watched Dimitri on his surfboard. He was surprisingly good, but that wasn't why I was watching; everytime he went into the ocean, he'd come out sparkling in the sunlight. Water droplets clung to his chest, and even from where I was sat, I could see how they defined his chest even more. He was delicious in every sense of the word.

When he finally came out and returned to his bag that was sat in the golden sand, his long brown hair was plastered to his head, away from his face. The way his soaked shorts clung to every part of his ass and crotch made my cheeks warm. It was like he was the Greek god of the ocean, Poseidon. From the way others on the beach were staring at him, I wasn't the only one to think that. He was a hot and very wet god with a surfboard on his shoulder.

But none of them had a 'date' with him later on like I did.

* * *

_"This one?"_

_"Too long."_

_"This one?"_

_"I don't like it. Not enough cleavage."_

Lissa groaned and rolled her eyes, tossing the black knee-length dress onto the growing pile of discarded dresses upon my bed. I grabbed a hold of the fire red one I'd already tossed. At first I'd thought it too short, but halfway up your thighs wasn't short, was it? No.

"I'll go with this one," I told Lissa. She opened her mouth to say something, but at that exact moment, Dancing Queen by ABBA started playing. I gave her a look that said _seriously? _She ignored me and answered it. From how wide her smile now was, I was prepared to bet both my boobs it was Christian. And sure enough-

_"I'm missing you too! Yes, it's fantastic down here in Miami. Yes. Yes I'm staying out of the sun, don't worry, I'm not going to burn myself. Exactly, again. I wish you were here… Rose is eyeing up Russians and I'm being abandoned tonight while she goes out and plays with him."_

Oh fucking hell. Did she _have _to tell him?

After a few more I love you's, she ended the call with a goofy, giddy smile upon her face. I just stare. "Why did you tell Christian about Dimitri? The whole _place _is going to know now!"

Lissa's cheeks went scarlet. "I didn't imply it like that."

"Yes you did Liss, yes you did."

"Oh."

"'Oh,' is right," I grumbled, grabbing the pair of high black heels from the foot of my bed to accompany my dress. In this ensemble, I'd look classy. Not some hoebag. A touch of make up and a few curls, perfect. Thank god my legs were waxed.

"So," Lissa inquired. "Was his accent hot?"

"On fire."

Lissa looked thoughtful. "Make him say weird words. It'll be funny."

Suddenly I was wondering how funny 'penis' would sound coming from a guy with a Russian accent.

* * *

Lissa wished me luck when I set off, giggling out "go get him, tiger. Have fun." She was planning on heading down to the hotel swimming pool and Jacuzzi for the evening. It sounded like bundles of fun and jealousy took over, but then I remembered I had a Russian god waiting for me in a bar and it vanished instantly.

Heads turned when I climbed out of the cab. In a good way or bad, I didn't wait to find out. I could have walked from the hotel to here, but in these heels? There was more chance of pigs flying.

The bar was all windows, the beaches of Miami framed through them. Dimitri was sat at a two person table in a corner next to the fish tank. There was a pair of little turtles swimming about inside, occasionally pausing to just float above the white gravel.

Dimitri stood up as I reached him, greeting me with "Rose, you look amazing."

He looked amazing too in a black t-shirt that was tight in all the right places. His jeans were black too, sporting a belt that was untarnished silver. Soft brown hair framed his warm chocolate eyes as he leaned down to take my jacket off. As soon as he was done with that, he pulled out the chair for me to sit on, draping my jacket behind it. The perfect gentleman. No guy had ever done that for me before.

Dimitri sat down opposite and smiled, brushing the hair from his eyes. But before he could speak, a waiter arrived, asking "welcome to the _Oceanstar_. What can I get you both to drink?"

"White wine for me," Dimitri told him, glancing to me with his eyes twinkling. "What would you like?"

"Jack Daniels and Coke," I replied, flashing the waiter a smile. He looked startled, as if no girl had ordered it in the bar before. But all the same, he nodded and left with our orders.

"I'm sorry for how late this is," Dimitri apologized, placing his hands upon the table. "I've been so busy lately. It's unbelievable how much has been on my plate."

I shook my head. "It's fine. Really. Have you enjoyed Miami?"

The waiter returned with our drinks and Dimitri paid for us both without hesitation. He took a sip of his wine before replying to me. "Yes. I have. It's my first time being down here."

A playful smile twitched back onto my feet and I crossed my ankles beneath the seat. "Because you're usually building snowmen in the middle of Russia?"

"You have a thing for Russia, don't you?" he mused, taking another sip. "It's not all ice and endless wastelands. There's so much life if you know where to look. Not just Moscow, or say, Vladivostok. But the smaller towns and villages." He paused. "Do you know any of the fairytales? It's quite a magical place."

I shook my head, entranced. "Tell me?"

Dimitri smiled, leaning back in his seat. "There's one called _Vasilisa the Beautiful. _Or sometimes, _Vasilisa's Doll. _When Vasilisa was eight, her mother, on her deathbed, gave her daughter a doll. She told her that if she fed the doll a little to eat and drink, it would always help her."

"My friend is called that," I told him. "Vasilisa. Lissa."

Dimitri smiled. "A very fortunate name."

"Bad things happened to Vasilisa, didn't they?"

"Of course. But like in all fairy tales, it has a happy ending. The czar himself noticed her and eventually married her."

I cocked my head lightly, genuinely curious. "Was it based on truth? Or utterly fictional?"

Dimitri looked thoughtful, hand lifting his wine glass to his lips. "Actually, I'm not sure."

"I wouldn't have taken you for a man with an interest in Russian legends at all," I laughed, raising my drink to my own mouth. Too much coke and not enough J&D. Skimpers. Dimitri smiled. "I grew up knowing them. Like you would have done with Rapunzel or say, Snow White. Although, we did have the Grimm's Fairytales there was well. Original ones, not the watered down versions."

"Original?"

He nodded. "The original Rapunzel gave herself away to Gothel because she was pregnant and had no idea why she was getting larger. Gothel tossed her into the wilderness and she bore a son and daughter that the blinded prince eventually found." He chuckled. "I never thought I'd be sat in Miami talking about fairytales."

"I'm not that bad company am I?"

Dimitri's smile was warm. "You're excellent company, Roza."

What the? "What does that mean?"

A chuckle. "Your name. In Russian."

He ticked the cute, intelligent and sexy boxes all at once.

As the hours wore on, we talked about everything and anything. Dimitri confessed to being a lover of Western books and I couldn't help but laugh. Maybe he was a cowboy in his spare time.

Before long, it was next to midnight and we had plowed through so many drinks I'd lost count. The bar shooed us out and I didn't want to know how much Dimitri had paid. The night was dark and the streetlights lit our way towards Dimitri's apartment that overlooked the Miami beach. My arm was laced through his the entire way. I could hear the crash of the waves through the darkness. It sounded so beautiful and ethereal. Then again, this _was_ a beautiful and ethereal place.

* * *

Dimitri's apartment was much bigger than my own hotel room. It was crisp and new smelling with a hint of cologne in the air. There was no woman living here from the layout of the sofa and _chiaroscuro_ pictures upon the wall, that was for sure. A sign outside the apartment block said that these were rented. He certainly had money then.

He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it onto the back of the sofa before gesturing for me to turn around. When I did, he slid off my jacket, fingers brushing the bare skin of my shoulders. A shiver shot down my spine, settling in the pit of my stomach. He even took off my bag and set it down with my coat.

Hands touched my waist. Then they didn't leave.

Lips met the skin just under my right ear and my breath caught in my throat. "You're so beautiful," he muttered into my ear, hands sliding down to my hips. Fingers hooked themselves underneath the hem of my dress and tugged up. Dimitri hoisted me up onto his hips and a gasp escaped me as I was pressed against him. Without warning, he crashed his lips to mine. It was hot, hungry with more than a little passion. I had been dying to taste those lips all night long. When I wrapped my legs around his hips, he tore my dress upwards, walking us somewhere. It wasn't hard to guess where we were heading and I had no quarrel with it.

Dimitri shoved open the bedroom door with his foot, walking us inside with our lips still locked and my arms now around his neck. When he closed it again, I slid down from his waist, breaking the most passionate kiss of my life to yank his shirt up over his head. As soon as it hit the floor, Dimitri set to work on me. After unzipping me down the side, he wound his hands into the bottom of my dress and pulled it up over my head, casting it aside without a moment's hesitation. Suddenly I was stood there in just my heels and rather skimpy underwear. Thank God they were the black ones, not the rose patterned ones Lissa had slipped into my case, saying innocently she hadn't put them in there. I could smell bullshit a mile off.

Those large hands of his picked me up at the waist as if I was a doll and half-pushed, half-placed me onto the bed. I kicked off my heels, hearing the _clunk _of them hitting the wooden floor.

Dimitri's bed was completely bone white and smooth. It wasn't going to stay that way for much longer. As he unbuckled his jeans and yanked the zip down, my heart really and truly started to pound. No backing out now. There had never been any second thoughts. Not about Dimitri.

When his jeans and shoes were gone, plus his socks, he joined me on the bed, hovering over me with his eyes so dark they looked almost black. Those eyes were hungry, so full of desire they made my body quiver with anticipation. He dipped his head down and let his lips brush my collarbone, eliciting a soft groan from me. Dimitri's lips trailed downwards until they reached the dip of my stomach. It was there where he muttered "you should have kept the heels on. There's something really, really hot about a woman who wears her heels for a man in bed."

Those lips were driving me insane. They wouldn't go any lower, nor would they go higher. Fuck, why wouldn't they go any lower? "Next time," I told him without realizing. We were both leaving tomorrow. There would never _be_ a next time.

He chuckled, lips vibrating against my stomach, but said nothing. After a single kiss to my stomach, he at long last stopped the torture and hovered over me once more, our noses very nearly brushing. I couldn't help but raise a hand to his hair, running my fingers through it. I found it silkier than I had expected. No tangles to speak of. Dimitri leaned down, capturing my mouth to his once more. Any words I could have said were silenced as our tongues met, kissing each other with so much fire it made my body burn already. Before long, I was going to spontaneously combust, I knew it.

Dimitri groaned against my lips as my hand ran its way down his stomach and my fingers brushed the front of his boxers. From what I could feel, he really, really wasn't some teenage boy. I tugged at the elastic waistband until they were down near his knees, then he kicked them off.

He'd torn my underwear in his haste to get me out of my dress. One side was snapped. Dimitri took the hint when I attempted to push them off without success and reached down, snapping the other side too as well as tossing them away. Great, my best ones were now trash. I bet he hadn't even looked at them.

Thoughts about my destroyed underwear instantly left my mind as he pressed his body against my own. Everything about Dimitri was overwhelmingly masculine as his hips grinded against my own, lips moving to the underside of my jaw with his hands holding my waist. If he kept this up, I was going to be done before we'd even begun. How embarrassing would that be?

When he pushed into me, I wasn't expecting it. I wound a hand into his hair with my eyes flying wide and body jerking sharply against his own. Dimitri's lips found my own once more, but I didn't kiss him back. It was startling, how painful it was. Like a small, red hot dagger in my abdomen. I should have told him. Stupid, stupid Rose. I hadn't even _had _sex before. My lips met his and I moved my hips in time to his, praying my legs weren't wrapped too tight around his hips.

It didn't hurt so much after a little while, but still I still yanked on his hair a little too hard to be entirely plausible. He didn't complain when I dug my nails into his back after a particularly hard thrust, or when I raked them down his shoulders when we came together.

For a long time afterwards, I lay spent atop Dimitri's covers while he slept next to me, dark brown hair tumbling into his closed eyes. He looked peaceful while asleep. Too peaceful and innocent. He didn't look like the type of guy that certainly knew how to make a woman scream and cause her toes to curl in pleasure in a heartbeat.

I got up and creeped through the shadowed apartment until I found my bag where it was still sat with my coat. When I pulled my phone out, I saw it was just gone three in the morning. Had we really been at it for three hours-? No wonder all I wanted was a hot shower to soothe the aches in my stomach.

Lissa had messaged twice.

_I hope you're being safe. _Then, _have fun ;)_

Shit. Had he used anything? How did it even… feel if he had? How the hell was I supposed to know? The last thing I needed was getting pregnant from a one-night stand with some hot as fuck Russian guy.

I had to get out of here before he woke up.

When I creeped back into his room and picked up my dress, I found it ripped along the zip. Thanks a bunch Dimitri. I had no dress or underwear. One-night stands were turning out to be more than expensive. I stole a shirt from his wardrobe, along with a pair of black shorts you could tie, otherwise they wouldn't have stayed up. His shirt was way too big for me, but at this time of night, who was going to see it? Especially with my jacket over it all. I even found a hair tie in the wardrobe that I stole to draw my knotted and sweaty hair back into the crappiest buns in the history of buns.

As I tugged my heels on, Dimitri rolled over in bed with a groan, facing me. I froze up, praying he didn't open his eyes. A minute of waiting and the even rise and fall of his chest assured me he was still fast asleep. I tiptoed over the wooden flooring and into the living room, wondering if I should have left a note. But what would I write? _"Thanks for taking my virginity, see you around." _No. No note.

When I shut the front door behind me, I did feel regret. He was a good guy, not just in it for the sex. Even if the sex in question had blown my mind and probably made the neighbors hate me from how noisy I was. But wasn't the saying 'if she's making no noise, you're doing it wrong?' Dimitri had certainly been doing it right if that was how it went.

* * *

The next morning, Lissa was smug at the sight of my stolen attire and hair as I lay sprawled out on my bed. "Someone had fun."

"Painkillers," I groaned, making grabby hands from the depths of my bed. "All I want is painkillers before we leave, and to never have sex with a massive Russian again. I feel destroyed."

"Oh? 'Massive,' was he?" Lissa noted innocently, perching at the edge of my bed. I grabbed the spare pillow next to me and swatted her around the head with it, trying to feel pissed at her for laughing at my pain, but I just couldn't do it. "I never said it in that context." Yeah, he had been big, now that I remember it.

I rolled onto my back, sighing lightly as I stared at the ceiling. The room and I smelt like expensive cologne and man. It was surprisingly nice.

Lissa flopped onto the bed and scooted closer. But as soon as she was close enough to put her arms around me, she groaned and recoiled away. "Rose! The shower is in the other room. _Use it._"

I smirked at the ceiling and didn't move.

**-Review! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Man I have been soooo busy! New job is taking up all my free time, urgh. But hey ho, here is chapter two at last! Let's get this literally crazy story kicked off. Thank you for all the reviews! Don't forget to drop more! Next chapter should come sooner rather than later! Enjoy x**

* * *

Christian glared at me as he tilted his head back, nose bleeding freely. "Fuck you Rose. Seriously, fuck you."

"Fuck me? Who was the one who 'let it slip' about me on holiday, huh?" I retorted, rubbing my knuckles. He had one freaking thick skull. Then, I shouldn't have been shocked; this _was _Christian Ozera.

Lissa groaned, tugging at the wide bracelets around each of her wrists. "You shouldn't have punched him. It was me who told him."

"Yeah, but you didn't force him to run his mouth and blab. Thank god only a few know. Let's keep it like that."

Christian glared when Lissa looked thoughtful. I couldn't help but snigger when he walked out. With a sigh, Lissa slapped my arm. "Would you mind not breaking my boyfriends nose? He'll probably have two black eyes now and they're going to ask where it came from. You'll get locked up in isolation for a week. Black eyes, Rose!"

"That'd be an improvement" I added before I could think it through. Lissa swelled up like a puffer fish before stalking out of the room. Really? Jeez.

Mason smirked from his armchair, legs draped over the side. He looked the picture of relaxation. "Sexy older Russian guys huh?"

I scoffed. "Isn't it way past your bedtime, Fruit Loops?"

"You wound me deep Rose. It's our last night before school starts again. Plus Adrian is back. Waiting for you, but he's not allowed in Low Risk right now."

That made me stare. "Are you serious? I thought they'd keep him locked up forever." Mason shrugged. "You said that about Christian."

"The bastard set his bedroom on fire! I still don't like him around Lissa. What if he starts her off again?"

Mason looked unconcerned. "They're a cure for each other, Rose."

I gave him a skeptic look. "Christian wasn't even allowed to come on holiday with us. And we were only allowed a week. A major strict week."

Mason scowled. "Be very thankful. Most here would give an arm and leg for that kind of freedom. Even for just a week. You weren't even _supervised. _You had to text in every night, that was all." A pause. "I suppose Lissa lied for you on the last night? You know they'll find out. And you're going to get into trouble."

"Trouble is my middle name. And I don't care. Now… tell me- why is Adrian coming back? How? _Why?_" how was he even sane enough to come back to school? The last time I'd seen him was because… well, bad things had happened.

Mason ran a hand through his ginger hair. "Apparently he's doing much better."

"In just six months? Bullshit." I didn't want to admit it, but I was slightly frightened. No, screw that, I was definitely scared. Out of my wits. Not that I'd let anyone know. That would be a sign of weakness.

Suddenly, a voice called through the loudspeakers _"Please return to your rooms. You have ten minutes. You will find your new timetables and uniform upon your beds."_

Phew. No summoning.

Mason sighed and got to his feet. "I guess I'll see you in classes tomorrow." He left instantly and I watched him go, reluctant to leave myself. But when the warning bell sounded, I sighed in defeat and started making my way back towards the dormitories on the other side of campus.

"You're pushing it" Lissa chastised as I shut the door behind me with a click, hearing it automatically lock behind me. Me and Lissa had more freedom than most in this loony bin, but we still weren't trusted with an unlocked door.

"Mason told me that Adrian's back."

Lissa dropped her book. "Seriously? Crazy Ivashkov?"

"Yes. Crazy has recovered, apparently."

"Bullshit."

She echoed my thoughts perfectly. "It sucks Liss. Major sucks."

Lissa nodded and lay back, closing her eyes. She sighed. "Just think… we'll be out of here in June. Properly out of here."

"If you keep your head down, we will."

A pause. "You too Rose. You are utterly fine now. You could leave anytime you want… why do you keep pretending to be crazy?"

"Because I have no intention of leaving you here alone, Lissa," I told her firmly. "I'm not leaving you here alone."

"I have Christian."

"You know what I mean. I'd fake insanity forever if I had to."

I ignored her sad expression and picked up my timetable, scowling at it. "Great. They've cut out that extra free lesson and replaced it with one-to-one counseling sessions. I mean, who the fuck is Mr. Belikov?"

"I have no idea. New guy? Sounds…" she smiled innocently. "He sounds Russian."

In one swift movement, I screwed up my timetable and threw it at her. She giggled insanely and swatted it away.

We got changed for bed and shimmied under the covers, the lights now off. It felt weird, being back here at the school. Then again, the word 'school' was pushing it. This place was more a rehabilitation center. Or to the students, St Vladimir's home for the crazies.

We were the crazies.

* * *

Breakfast was relatively quiet compared to the usual screaming of some student. There was always one, always. But not this time. For the duration of breakfast, I kept a cautious eye out for Crazy Ivashkov, but never saw him. Maybe the rumors were wrong? Maybe he wasn't coming back to mainstream school?

Lissa was sat on Christian's lap, talking quietly to him with a smile on her face. I narrowed my eyes slightly- Christian probably had a boner underneath. Not that Lissa would mind. Gross.

The bell rang and we all got to our feet. Time for church. Even those who weren't religious were required to sit through the half an hour of quiet contemplation. They claimed it helped concentration. Dirty, filthy lies.

Lissa grabbed my hand so we didn't get separated. Her other was in Christian's. I had to admit, the pyromaniac was good for her. She had never smiled that much until she'd met him the previous year. At first, I'd warned him away. I mean, would you seriously want your best friend around a boy who had a tendency to set things alight? I'd seen him shirtless once and all down his right side, there was shiny and red skin. Burnt skin. I had no idea how it had happened, but it didn't look too old. What had happened to him prior to coming here? Even Lissa didn't know.

They held hands the entire service. It was disgustingly cute.

_"Oh Rose,"_ the voice inside my head whispered to me. _"You can't run forever."_

Adrian really had gotten under my skin. He was like a rash that just wouldn't clear up, no matter what you did to it.

Something prodded me in the back. Mason. He slipped something over that I caught. It was a piece of folded paper. As the sermon continued, I opened it discreetly and read _Adrian is in isolation for a week. He punched Kirova in the face._

I snorted so loud from laughter that the guards around us glared at me and a few loonies turned around to stare at me. When I glared back at them, they turned back to the front.

Adrian was in Iso. That was the best news I'd had this morning. No chance of running into him for a week at least. Things were looking up.

First classes went very well. No homework at all for once. At lunch, I sat atop Mason's lap yielded to their questions about the hot Russian I'd hooked up with on holiday.

_"Miss Hathaway!"_ someone shouted from the top table. _"Get down from Mr Ashford's lap! You know the no-contact rule!"_

"Yeah whore! Whore, whore, _whore!_" someone called from another table as I slid into the seat next to Mason. Charming, just charming. Apparently I was a whore now. They hadn't even bothered with Christian and Lissa.

"Ignore them," Mason muttered, closing his fist around the handle of the plastic fork. We weren't allowed metal ones. "They're just jealous that you're getting out of here soon and they're going to rot in here for eternity."

Lissa cleared her throat, leaning forward. "So come on, spill! You told me nothing about the 'date' on the way home. I demand details."

"You hoe" I teased her.

"Don't you dare say a word," Christian warned me. "I don't want to hear about how big this Russian guy was, or how he gave it to you."

Mason sniggered. "_Did _he give it to you Rose?"

I smiled sweetly in Christian's direction, refusing to look away from his wintry eyes as I said "oh he gave it to me alright. All night long."

Christian closed his eyes and groaned in utter disgust. "I hate you Hathaway."

As I glanced to the clock, I sighed wearily- I should have had a free lesson right now, not a one-to-one lesson with some creepy Russian sounding man. Why was everything Russian lately after the guy in Miami?

"Enjoy your time with your Russian lover," Lissa joked as I got up to walk towards the exit. I flashed her my middle finger and a teacher at head table yelled at me. I escaped before someone could slap a detention on me.

* * *

All the way towards the other side of campus, my mind was on Crazy Ivashkov. When I walked past the double metal doors that lead to isolation, I couldn't help but glance towards it and pause to stare. I could hear yelling emanating from inside. Whether it was Adrian's doing or not I couldn't tell.

Just then, the double doors swing open and a very red nosed Kirova strolls out, her expression very nearly murderous. At me I thought for a start, but at her double-take at seeing me, I thought otherwise.

"Why are you loitering outside Isolation?" she asked me, stopping dead with her eyes suspicious.

I motion to the dark brown doors leading to the west wing of the school. "I have a one-to-one today."

Kirova nodded and I see that both of her eyes are blacker than hell. Adrian's doing. Hell I want to laugh, but I'd end up in Iso myself. "Belikov, yes?" she asked now. I nodded. "Yeah, him.

"He's a good man" Kirova said. "His first day with us, and we're extremely fortunate to have him. Do _not…_" she didn't say what I shouldn't do, but it wasn't hard to guess; don't offend him. Don't frustrate him. Don't give him cause to walk out. Pissing off teachers was a Rose Hathaway special.

I shrugged. "Wouldn't dream of it Headmistress. You might want to put some ice on those eyes, by the way." I offered it as genuine advice but she glowered and snapped "off with you. You'll be late." She walked off, leaving me stood there like a lemon. A glance at the clock on the wall and she's right- I _am _going to be late. Turning my back on Isolation, I hurry down the corridors.

Five past. Shit. Late.

I never have to come down this corridor usually. It's so… creepy. So white and clinical. What do they think this wing is? A hospital? I'm not insane. At all.

Room 21 was tucked into the corner, the door white and the blinds matching and drawn. You couldn't see inside at all. I knocked twice and heard a voice call from inside "come in." When I put a hand on the knob, I couldn't help but frown- that voice seemed so familiar. There was an accent to it. Well he was Russian after all. After Dimitri, of course I'd pick up on that.

When I walk in, the pure white office is normal sized with a dark mahogany desk sat snug near the wall. There were no windows that showed outside. It felt… claustrophobic. Why was everything white and so… blank? Only the dark furniture was a splash of color in the room.

Where is he? There were no doors that led out of the room other than the one I'd just come through. I dumped my bag onto the stool next to the door, stepping forward and sitting down in the squishy black leather armchair before the desk. There's an expensive looking laptop set up upon it, the lid open. Something bumps my feet and I start violently. When the man straightened up from underneath the desk, his back to me, I just stare.

Stare in utter disbelief.

He winds a computer cord up and stows it away, back to me still. I felt numb. The horror… this wasn't possible. I was jumping to conclusions and making assumptions.

And then the man turned and he stared as well, dark brown eyes widening in shock.

I cleared my throat, not looking away from those eyes. God they were delicious as ever. "Well, this is awkward."

There was no smile upon his face. No hug or words of greeting. After what seemed like forever, he says something in Russian. It doesn't sound like anything good.

"What did that mean?" I asked, tapping a finger upon the desk. It was Dimitri. Really him. The man I'd left back in Miami after… well…

"I said I feel sick" Dimitri told me, eyes as cold as ice. "Leave. Please."

I shook my head. "This is a lesson. One-to-one." The truth was I didn't want to leave just yet. The odds of something like this happening were just… astronomical. Clearly I wasn't the only one thinking that.

"Ros-Miss. Hathaway… you were, no _are _a child. And after what happened in Miami, I can't work with you. It's not possible. I'm disgusted at myself. I should have known before…" he doesn't finish, looking faintly sick.

I stood up as he sat down in his chair. Dimitri was wearing a crisp and professional looking black suit with a matching tie that made him look hotter than hell. On the clothes peg behind him in the corner though, a long dark brown leather coat hung.

"Please leave" he told me again, making sure not to meet my eyes. "I'll find you another counselor."

That made me scowl. "So what? You're going to pawn me off onto someone else simply because you had sex with me?"

Dimitri's jaw clenched. "Never say that again inside this school. Never. The consequences would result in my arrest for a start."

He really hadn't known. But then, I had lied to him after all about my age. Wait. Had age come up? I couldn't remember.

"It wasn't your fault" I told him quietly, not knowing what to say or do. "I mean… you didn't know."

"I should have." Dimitri got up and strolled over to the door and opened it. He took a deep breath. "I cannot do this. I'm sorry."

As soon as my foot was outside the door, it was shut behind me.

* * *

When I returned to mine and Lissa's bedroom, she was sat there reading, on a free lesson. She blinked in surprise at the sight of me, setting down her book. "You're back early. Is everything okay?"

Was everything okay? I was still in shock. My hook-up was a counselor. And one assigned to me. I wasn't even legally an adult yet and if the authorities knew of mine and Dimitri's activities on the last night of my holidays… well, Dimitri was right; he'd be arrested for statutory rape.

I sat my bag down upon the bed, not knowing how to respond. To tell her or not? She'd see him soon enough no doubt. And she knew his name. And what he looked like.

The bed next to my bag went down as I sat upon it, clearing my throat. "Dimitri is my new counselor."

Lissa looked confused for a start, but then it dawned on her and she understood. Her jade green eyes widened as she asked hesitantly "as in… Miami Dimitri?"

"Yeah," I told her. "The hot one."

"The one you had sex with? The Russian?"

"Him. He kicked me out, forbade me from mentioning about what happened between us." I took a deep breath. "Can't blame him. I mean, how would you react if you'd found out you'd fucked one of the kids from a loony bin?"

"But you're not mad, Rose"

"He doesn't know that." I felt bitter now. Dimitri probably thought I was nuts. Like Crazy Ivashkov. I wasn't. I didn't cut like Lissa, burn houses down like Christian or get violent and try to strangle people at random like Mason. I was here because of my mothers claims that I had behavioral problems. They'd even diagnosed me with it, the bastards. Sure, I had an attitude, but psychological problems? I wasn't insane. I didn't belong here.

"I have him tomorrow" Lissa told me now, her timetable on her lap. "What if he recognizes _me?_"

I snorted in laughter. "I doubt he'll be bothered with you. I mean… you didn't fuck him did you?"

Her cheeks went scarlet and I rested my case.

With a sigh I stared up at the cream colored ceiling. Home sweet insane home.

* * *

All through the next day, I was waiting for when Lissa had her lesson with Dimitri. I couldn't help the curiosity. When she came to our table at lunch, fresh from her lesson with him, she barely had time to sit down before I dragged her closer, asking about him.

She shifted her chair closer to the table, shaking her head a little. "He was nice. A little… serious. But he didn't indicate he recognized me or anything."

"And what about him?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean is he any good?"

Lissa shifted uncomfortably. "He was actually uh, really amazing. Best counselor I've ever had. I didn't feel shy around him at all. And you know how… um, scary he looks. And sounds."

_"Miss Hathaway."_

Speak of the Russian devil. I turned around in my seat to find Dimitri stood there, his face expressionless. Stoic was a good word to describe him. "Midday tomorrow, you have another meeting since ours cut short."

"Who with?" I had to ask. His jaw clenched the tiniest of fractions. "With me. Same place." And with that, he left. Lissa arched a brow. "Guess he couldn't change you to someone else. I mean, they must b- why are you smirking?"

I shook my head, glancing towards the door. "Nothing. I'm just wondering how long it's going to take him to crack and leave the school."

"Rose. Don't wind him up and make him leave. I like him."

"I'm not going to make him leave" I assured her, reaching into my bag where a ham sandwich lies wrapped in a plastic bag. In the Low Risk zones, we're not allowed tin foil. It makes no sense. What are we gonna do? Tin foil someone to death?"I'm gonna push him until he reaches his limit."

Lissa frowned. "You're going to end up in deep, deep trouble. Stuff worse than Iso, Rose. I mean… why do you even want to do this-? It's kinda come from nowhere. I thought you liked him?"

I shrugged and leaned back in my seat, biting into my sandwich. "Yeah I like him. I'm just bored."

"Rose, this isn't boredom. This is something else."

My eyes narrowed as I lowered my sandwich. "Did you just-? Are you calling me crazy?" one of the guards. Guardians as we call them, takes a step forward at my raised voice. I ignore him.

Lissa's eyes widened once again. "No! I'm just saying that you shouldn't do this. It's… wrong. Stupid."

I snort in laughter. "Stupid is when you cut. You keep claiming you want to die, that's why you do it, but you don't even do it deep enough!"

Lissa just stares, her eyes hurt and her posture stiff. "Rose, this isn't you talking. What's wrong?"

That was harsh of me. More than harsh. I should say sorry, but the words won't come.

Suddenly, someone grabbed a hold of my collar, yanking me to my feet as roughly as possible. Christian's eyes are as dark and stormy as the Irish Sea. They were the last thing I saw before he drew his arm back, then punched me square in the cheek, knocking me clean out.

**-Don't forget to drop a review! :D**


End file.
